I come from a bookish family but I didn’t much like reading as a kid. Then, in middle school, like so many other kids, I tore through S.E. Hinton’s four novels. Later, I saw all of the movie adaptations, but the one I like most was the first one, Tex.

It is an unaffected movie that features the easy, natural gifts of its star, Matt Dillion. Meg Tilly and Emilio Estevez are winning too, and yup, that’s old Ben Johnson who plays their father. Jim Metzler is also strong as Tex’s put-upon older brother. There is nothing loud about this movie, but the yearning and discomfort of a parentless home is evoked in such a way that seems authentic and true. I feel sad and anxious just thinking about it.